Kathy Bates, in full Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.) American actress of stage, screen, and television, especially known for her portrayals of strong women who act against the social milieu. She won an Academy Award for best actress for her chilling performance of an obsessed fan in Misery (1990).

Bates was raised in Memphis and later studied theatre at Methodist University in Dallas (B.F.A., 1969). In 1970 she moved to New York City, where she worked odd jobs while pursuing an acting career. She landed minor stage roles and in 1971 appeared in Taking Off, the first American film of Czech-born director Miloš Forman. Her first Off-Broadway role was Joanne in Vanities (1976), which helped her secure a role in the film Straight Time (1978). Bates appeared in numerous theatre and film productions during the late 1970s and the ’80s, including the successful plays Crimes of the Heart (1979); ’Night, Mother (1983), for which she received a Tony Award nomination; and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1988).

In 1990 Bates established herself as a powerful screen presence in the film adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery. She played Annie Wilkes, a psychotic fan who rescues a best-selling novelist (played by James Caan) after a car accident but turns on him when she finds that he has killed her favourite character in his latest novel. In addition to an Academy Award, she also won a Golden Globe for her performance. Throughout the 1990s Bates showed her versatility in a number of films, playing a forlorn Southern housewife in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), a maid accused of murdering her employer in Dolores Claiborne (1995; adapted from a novel by King), and an outspoken socialite in Titanic (1997). She received critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for her role as Libby Holden, an idealistic political operative, in Primary Colors (1998).

Bates later acted in such films as About Schmidt (2002), for which she received another Academy Award nomination; Failure to Launch (2006); and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), a remake of the 1951 classic. In 2008 Bates took a supporting role in Revolutionary Road, portraying a real estate agent in 1950s suburbia. She subsequently appeared in the sports drama The Blind Side (2009); the romantic comedies Valentine’s Day (2010) and A Little Bit of Heaven (2011); Woody Allen’s fantasy Midnight in Paris, in which she portrayed the writer Gertrude Stein; and the raunchy comedies Tammy (2014) and Bad Santa 2 (2016). In addition, Bates’s voice was featured in a number of films, including the animated adaptation of E.B. White’s classic story Charlotte’s Web (2006), Bee Movie (2007), and The Golden Compass (2007).

Bates also worked in television. Her credits as a TV director include the movie Dash and Lilly (1999), about the writers Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman, and episodes of the HBO drama Six Feet Under (2001–05), in which she also acted. In 2010–11 Bates had a recurring role on the sitcomThe Office, and in 2011–12 she starred in the TV drama Harry’s Law. In 2013 she joined American Horror Story for its third season (Coven), portraying the real-life Madame Delphine LaLaurie, a socialite who tortured and killed slaves in antebellumNew Orleans. The role earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie. In 2014 Bates returned as a bearded woman for the fourth season (Freak Show), and she portrayed the manager of a haunted hotel in the fifth season (Hotel). She was also cast in the sixth season, which premiered in 2016.

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any of a number of awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., to recognize achievement in the film industry. The award, a gold-plated statuette, is bestowed upon winners in the following 24 categories: best picture,...

June 28, 1948 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. American actress of stage, screen, and television, especially known for her portrayals of strong women who act against the social milieu. She won an Academy Award for best actress for her chilling performance of an obsessed fan in Misery (1990).

city, seat (1819) of Shelby county, extreme southwestern Tennessee, U.S. It lies on the Chickasaw bluffs above the Mississippi River where the borders of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee meet. Memphis is Tennessee’s most populous city and is at the centre of the state’s second...

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(born 1948). American stage, screen, and television actress Kathy Bates was especially known for her portrayals of strong women who often rage against social norms. She won an Academy Award for best actress for her chilling performance of an obsessed fan in Misery (1990).